Stellenbosch coach Steve Barker has dedicated reaching the Carling Knockout final, the club's first ever decider, to their fallen soldier Aswin Andries and his uncle Clive Barker.
Stellenbosch's brilliant season came to a crescendo on the weekend when they comfortably outwitted Richards Bay 0-3 to reach the Carling Knockout decider at King Zwelithini Stadium. Devin Titus, Anicet Oura and Antonio van Wyk were on target for the Cape winelands side, who lost defender Andries in February, a few days after he was stabbed.
In June, Barker also lost his uncle, Clive “The Dog” Barker, who guided Bafana Bafana to the Afcon glory in 1996, after a battle with Lewy Body Dementia (LBD). “Right from the beginning of the year we lost one of our soldiers in Oswin Andries. I [also] lost my uncle Clive, so for me I dedicate going to the final to both Ashwin and Clive,'' Barker said.
Hailing from Durban, where the Carling final will be played on December 16, Barker hopes to continue paying homage to Andries and Clive by winning this cup. “I grew up in Durban as a youngster, so hopefully I can go back in two weeks time and do them [Andries and Clive] proud and do our club proud and go all the way and win the final,'' Barker continued.
Stellenbosch had reached two semifinals and failed to make it to the final this year. Barker reckons that experience played a role in them winning in Durban at the weekend.
“I think [reaching the Carling Knockout final] is massive. Obviously to have three semifinals and not make a final would have been devastating. I do think we learnt from the previous two semifinals we lost on penalties and on away goals rule,'' Barker stated.
“A player like Jayden Adams is only 22 but it was his 100th appearance today, so when you have young players in your team that are already getting those amounts of caps, being in two semifinals, I think that sort of experience helped us this afternoon.”
In May, Barker’s men reached the Nedbank Cup semifinals only to lose on penalties to Sekhukhune United. In September, they reached the MTN8 last four but lost on away goals rule to Orlando Pirates. They lost the first leg 1-2 at home, before winning 0-1 away.
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